The asportation of table-top machines is quite common, where such machines are moveable, reference being made to presses, cutters, labelers, sewing machines, typewriters, calculators, computors and various processors etc. However, the combination of a bench or table and such a machine would be too cumbersome to be subject to theft, and therefore would be overlooked by the burglar or thief. That is, the inconvenience of moving large furnishings can be expected to discourage theft of machines made a part thereof. Accordingly, this invention provides for locked attachment of machines and the like to larger furnishings such as desks and benches. With the present invention the equipment item is held secure to the furniture under lock and key.
There are many variations in machine design, but invariably there is a frame which consitutes the main portion of such a machine and without which it would be worthless. For example, business machines are most often comprised of a frame removeable from a bottom cover or a base which has table-top support. The base serves both mechanically and ornamentally, having a perimeter that matches with the cover and all of which establishes a housing for enclosing the mechanism with exposure of controls and other utilitarian features. Without the bottom cover or the base the machine would become worthless and accordingly it is this part of the machine in particular that is attached to the supporting furniture by lock and key when using the security device as it is disclosed herein. However, this does not preclude the direct application of this security device to any machine frame of the type under consideration.
Office machines and the like may or may not be fastened to the supporting furniture, and most furniture supports therefor are provided with stations, or positions, designed especially for the machine involved. Therefore, it is not uncommon to drill and to apply fasteners through the tops of furniture, such as for example a desk top. Accordingly, it is an object herein to employ an opening through the furniture support and protected under lock and key so that the installation features thereof are inaccessible. That is, the mounting features of this securement device are covered and rendered inaccessible when the lock is applied to secure the machine to be protected. Therefore, it is only by means of a key that the lock can be released to expose said mounting fasteners for disassembly when and if required.
Moveability of office machines or any such work machine is a usual requirement, for cleaning thereabout, for service and/or repair, and for adjustment and convenience to personnel operating the same. It is therefore, an object of this invention to provide limited mobility of such machines, and to this end a flexible cable is employed and of material and construction that is virtually impossible to cut under the conditions imposed by the closeness of this lock and key securement.
It is another object of this invention to provide few and simple and easily formed parts that are rugged and dependable and of configurations that defy the application of tools that a tempted burglar or thief might employ. In practice, heavy gage stainless steel is fabricated as hereinafter disclosed to secure the barrel of a security-type locking unit to which the aforesaid cable is attached without modification to the frame or base of the machine secured thereby.